Counterfeiting of goods is a substantial problem in many product groups such as, for example, leather goods, alcoholic drinks, cosmetic products, clothing, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical goods, and so forth. The counterfeiting of goods is undesirable for both the originators of the goods (for example, lost revenue) and for the consumers (for example, poor quality of goods, hazards to health).
Currently, there are solutions relying on NFC technology to tackle the problem of counterfeiting. In one solution, an app is installed on a mobile device to interface with an NFC device associated with a “genuine” product, such that interfacing of the NFC device with the mobile device enables authentication of whether the product is “genuine”. Typically, the app opens and reads data transmitted from the NFC device, with the data being processed either in the phone, or on a remote server, to determine the authenticity of the product. As an app needs to be installed on the mobile device, the app will take up resources of the mobile device.
In addition, data transmitted from the NFC device is typically independent of a time parameter, and this can compromise the authentication process.
Clearly, there are issues associated with the existing solutions relying on NFC technology to tackle the problem of counterfeiting.